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Monthly Archives: February 2015

I believe that most people have the desire to create; whether it’s a business, a nonprofit, a work of art, there’s an entrepreneurial spirit in many of us. Today, companies are tapping into the entrepreneurial spirit of their employees by supporting and elevating intrapeneurs within their organizations. Are you an intraprenuer?

Intrapreneurship is known as the practice of a corporate management style that integrates risk-taking and innovation approaches, as well as the reward and motivational techniques that are more traditionally thought of as being the province of entrepreneurship. The term is not new, it’s been around since its first mention in a business paper in 1978, but today, the concept has morphed into something bigger. So big, in fact, that it is considered a movement. Check out the League of Intrapreneurs, where you will surely be inspired.

So where can you find intrapreneurs today? Most people envision the intrapreneur in a startup environment, where innovation and change move at warp speed with a pivot happening every day. True, there are many folks within those organizations who are risk takers and innovators but there is a growing army of intraprenuers within large corporations. And these folks are shifting the course of these companies from the inside. Let’s see if you fit the profile:

Do you dream of starting your own business one day?

Are you a problem solver who looks outside of your position/capabilities to find the best solution?

Are you comfortable failing?

Have you successfully built and led a team?

Is your desire for success infectious?

If you answered yes to the questions above, happily accept the badge of intraprenuership. Wear your new title with pride because we are certain you will excel within your organization and ultimately help lead and shape it.

How do you define intraprenuership? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

This time last year, I talked about the costs associated with hiring and briefly touched on the benefits of going with an independent/3rd party recruiter. This year, I’d like to dig deeper into that topic and give you my take on the recruiter advantage.

Savings
While I already alluded to the cost savings associated with hiring a recruiter, it will also save you time and frustration – which are priceless. Many man-hours go into screening candidates – and it can be a very tedious process. If you’re main job is not to hire people, then you will likely find this process overwhelming.

Network
The network I’ve built over the years is worth everything. If recruiting is not your job, placing the opportunity on your website and hoping that the perfect candidate is going to apply is like fishing without bait. You need know what will attract the right person and you need to know where to look. Chances are, they already have a job.

Experience
I’ve been doing this a long time. Placing talent effectively is a skill that is developed over time. You want to work with someone who is knowledgeable about your industry, has a good rapport with clients and can navigate the nuances of recruiting. That’s my colleagues and me at Kaczmar.

Working with recruiters, especially good ones, come at a price – upwards of 20 percent of a candidate’s salary. There are usually upfront costs associated with finding and placing talent. However, I look at this as quality over quantity. Would you rather buy a high-end product that’s going to last you for years or settle for the generic that’s going to leave you high and dry after a few months? You absolutely get what you pay for. And while people are not products, they are assets. As a recruiting firm, the caliber of talent we place is directly linked to our reputation. And after 20 years in the business, our reputation equals my success.

What has been your experience with recruiters? Love them? Hate them? Fire away in a comment below.